The Federal Government has announced plans to strengthen policy and regulatory frameworks in the solid minerals sector to attract global investment and enhance Nigeria’s competitiveness in mining.
Faruk Yabo, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, stated this on Wednesday, February 25, during a stakeholders’ workshop in Abuja aimed at assessing Nigeria’s compliance with the African Mineral Governance Framework.
Yabo said the engagement serves as an integration platform to strengthen Nigeria’s participation in continental and global mining ecosystems.
The workshop brought together stakeholders from government institutions, the private sector, and academia to deliberate on the future of the sector.
He noted that strengthening regulatory systems would improve access to financing, technology transfer, and investor confidence.
“Through fair lending mechanisms and sound policies, we will be able to establish systems that attract financing into the sector.
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“We are strengthening policy and regulatory frameworks while ensuring that mining operators comply with the required environmental standards,” Yabo said.
He added that improved governance and credible sectoral data would position Nigeria competitively among African mining nations.
Yabo also commended development partners, including the African Union and the French Development Agency, for supporting Nigeria’s reform efforts.
Speaking at the workshop, the Head of the African Minerals Development Centre, Tunde Arisekola, said the assessment forms part of technical services provided by the African Union to evaluate member states’ compliance with continental mining development pillars.
Preliminary findings showed that Nigeria performed strongly in geological data management and transparency frameworks.
However, Arisekola identified Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining as an area requiring improvement, noting the need to organise, train, and retrain artisanal miners to enable them benefit more from mining activities.
The assessment is part of broader engagements between Nigeria and the African Union to strengthen governance, transparency, and investment readiness in the country’s solid minerals sector.